Bulletin n. 2-3/2012
October 2012-February 2013
CONTENTS
  • Section A) The theory and practise of the federal states and multi-level systems of government
  • Section B) Global governance and international organizations
  • Section C) Regional integration processes
  • Section D) Federalism as a political idea
    • Schefold Dian
    Local Government in Germany
    in Italian Papers on Federalism , n. 1/2013 ,  2013
    The essay gives a full picture of the position and the regulation of local self-government in Germany. Its existence has an old historical tradition, and it is now recognized under art. 28 of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz, 1949), where local self-government is guaranteed, leaving to the Länder the legislative power on the subject. The analysis starts from some basic facts, showing the number and importance of local communities. In some Länder a second tier of self-government exists; in some cases, smaller communities have a united administration with others, or may participate in unions of local communities. The legal framework is provided by the European Charter of Local Self-Government, the Federal constitutional guarantee (art. 28 BL), and the legal concretisation, given only by the legislation of the Länder. The City-States (Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg) have a special position. This is followed by an analysis of competences, powers and services of local authorities; their basic organization; regulation of their human resources; financial resources; property and assets; control, supervision and oversight of their activity and the legal protection of self-government. Finally, the difficult relations between local government and the European Union are taken into consideration, and in particular the participation of local communities in the decision making of the European Union, which is not guaranteed and is still linked to their influence on decision-making in Germany.
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